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ACDSleeve 2010-2018

So, this is the end. ACDSleeve is over, I had a good run but ultimately it couldn’t work forever.

Over the last eight years I singlehandedly made 88,196 pieces of packaging, worked on 918 different releases, duplicated/printed 28,918 CDs, but now it’s over.

I struggled to find an employer who would hire someone with little to no real work experience other than running a business on their own and part time retail work through college/university. I found a job in June 2017 that really wasn’t for me, so I kept ACDSleeve running in the background, which ran me into the ground a little, doing an 8 hour work day that was physically exhausting and then 1-2 hours of ACDSleeve work before and after that. It was packing orders for an online music retailer, I had no creative input and it really got to me. I managed to last at that for 6 months but wanted to try and give ACDSleeve one last go, or find something more relevant. In that job on more than one occasion I was packing up releases with packaging I had made, they had gone from where they were printed in Leeds, delivered to Manchester, where I made the packaging, sent the order to the label, who then sent them to distributors and then it ended up back with me to send out to the final customer, which baffled me a little bit.

But that’s beside the point, I left that job in November with nothing lined up, which looking back was a stupid idea. I looked for work, had a few interviews, but none could see past the fact I’d been self employed for the last 8 years or I had to spend the bulk of the interview explaining how ACDSleeve works (“I make everything, and handle all enquiries/quotes, and box up all orders, and design the packaging layouts, and check/tweak artwork, and run the social media, and…”) so I got nowhere. Then I had to deal with a death in the family in April which meant I had no time to find work. The last ACDSleeve job was sent out in June this year.

I stumbled upon a manufacturing company in July who make wooden products and specialise in super high end packaging, they could see the potential in what I’d done, and seeing what they can do I knew it would be a perfect fit. The only issue is that the job was in Warrington and I’m based in Manchester, a half hour drive on the motorway, working for myself I’d never needed to drive so had only had a handful of lessons 13 years ago, so this was an issue as the commute is an hour and a half on the train. They were happy to wait until I’d learned to drive, so I took a fast track course, which went well until I failed my first driving test the week before my start date, so I had a month of getting up at 4:40am to get in for the 7am start time, but luckily I passed second time around.

And here I am a month into a job I enjoy, my life seemingly back on track after a rough 2 years of uncertainty. The Pop-Up/Pop-Out cases are still available but I’m not too sure how long for. I’m still happy to help with any advice on packaging, just wing me an email.

Thanks for all the support over the years if you’re checking this out seeing what’s happening here, it’s unreal that this all started with an idea I came up with when I was unemployed that I put on YouTube and I’ve grown into a business I could live off for so long and worked with some of my all time favourite bands. It’s been amazing.

Welcome to ACDSleeve, a small UK based music packaging company, specialising in unique and custom designs. We strive to set your next music release apart from the crowd.

At ACDSleeve we strongly believe that nothing beats receiving a physical copy of an album, single or e.p. With the increased move to digital music releases over the last few years, we're here to push traditional music packaging into new realms to allow people

the enjoyment that can be taken from tangible music formats. We offer unique packaging for bands and musicians, regardless of your size. By adding value through intriguing packaging, you're helping your music to reach a wider audience.